Monday, March 26, 2012

The Shadow of Your Smile

Noelle Hueston was headed home from Duluth, after talking to Admissions about enrolling in the art institute. On the way home, she stops for coffee, and interrupts a robbery. She escapes, but falls, hitting her head on the pavement. When she awakes, she’s in a hospital, twenty-five years of her life gone, and a man in there claiming to be her husband. Two boys who claim to be her sons…

With no where to go, Noelle has to allow these strangers to take her home. But she has no memory of this place, these people. Moreover, she is shocked that the life she is living is nothing like the life she’d always thought she’d live. Did she loose herself in this marriage?

Why was her husband, Eli, sleeping in the den? What happened to her ambitions? Does she even have any friends in this remote town? And if she had this life, what was she doing talking to Admissions in Duluth about enrolling in college?

THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE is the newest novel set in Deep Haven, Minnesota, by Susan May Warren. It is rare when you pick up a book that seems to minister to all your deepest emotions, but this book did. I found my self crying with some of the lyrics, praying with some of the prayers, and even quoting the verses, begging God that they might be true in my life too.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I can’t say enough good things about it. Noelle, her husband, Eli, their son, Kyle, a neighbor lady, Lee and her daughter Emma all had point of views in this book, all main characters, and I fell in love with every single one of them. My heart broke, it soared, I cried. THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE is going on my keeper shelf. I highly recommend it. 5 stars. 368 pages. $13.99